Virginia 2026 Session Status: Introduced

HB985 — Local land use; authority for decision belongs solely to locality.

Last action — Stricken from docket by Counties, Cities and Towns (20-Y 1-N)

  1. 1
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House of Delegates
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been introduced in the House of Delegates. Introduced January 13, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee referral and hearing.

Prognosis

Stalled 26% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • Introduced

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 1 recorded vote so far.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

Local land use; authority for decision belongs solely to locality.

Bill Text

We don't have the full text on file for this bill yet.

Read HB985 on the official Virginia source →

Action History

  1. H Stricken from docket by Counties, Cities and Towns (20-Y 1-N)

  2. H Placed on Counties, Cities and Towns Agenda

  3. H Placed on Counties, Cities and Towns Agenda

  4. H Placed on Counties, Cities and Towns Agenda

  5. H Assigned HCCT sub: Subcommittee #3

  6. H Referred to Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns

  7. H Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26104248D

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 147 not signed on · 1 voted No

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (147)

147 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 147 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

Stricken from docket by Counties, Cities and Towns

Passed 20 Yea · 1 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 20101
Total 20101
% of votes cast 91%5%0%5%
How each member voted (22)
Member Party Vote
Alex Q. Askew — Yea
Anne Ferrell Tata — Nay
Barry D. Knight — Not Voting
Briana D. Sewell — Yea
Dan I. Helmer — Yea
Ellen H. McLaughlin — Yea
Garrett McGuire — Yea
Irene Shin — Yea
James W. Morefield — Yea
Jessica L. Anderson — Yea
Joseph P. McNamara — Yea
Karen Keys-Gamarra — Yea
Laura Jane Cohen — Yea
M. Keith Hodges — Yea
Margaret A. Franklin — Yea
Mark C. Downey — Yea
Marty Martinez — Yea
May Nivar — Yea
Nicole Cole — Yea
Scott A. Wyatt — Yea
Shelly A. Simonds — Yea
Virgil Thornton — Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

housing environment
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HB985 do?
Local land use; authority for decision belongs solely to locality.
Who sponsors HB985?
HB985 is sponsored by Thomas A. Garrett, Jr..
What is the current status of HB985?
This bill has been introduced in the House of Delegates. Introduced January 13, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HB985?
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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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